Final Fantasy IX - Steiner says "Princess" 89 times on the first disc

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Final Fantasy IX - Steiner says "Princess" 89 times on the first disc

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Squarely Circle: Jul 28, 2010; things worsen and worsen

I like the helpfully labelled giant barrel of WINE.

# ? Oct 16, 2016 20:41

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 11:48

McDragon: Sep 11, 2007

Ha, I just realised the thing in Quan's Dwelling that turns into the big pie isn't the boat I always used to see. It's a giant frying pan.

And hooray, Gold Choco. I was really disappointing with the Gold Chocobo in VII, entirely because I assumed it flew like Choco does. Well, not like I ever got it legit on VII anyway.

Rabbi Raccoon posted:

The best town is coming up next...if I had to pick a videogame town to live in, it would be this one.

Ha, it's always been the town that looks the nicest to live in in this game to me.

# ? Oct 16, 2016 22:17

Zagglezig: Oct 16, 2012

I sorta like the idea that Quan may have starved to death by only eating imagined food/found food enlightenment by imagining what Vivi would taste like when he got big enough to eat.

Mega64 posted:

I lucked out on my first run and found eight items, with prematurely ends the round

Quick typo.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 00:28

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

Mega64 posted:

I WANT YOU

TO WANT ME

# ? Oct 17, 2016 01:39

Mega64: May 23, 2008; I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.

Dream Police would work so much better.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 02:06

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

NikkolasKing posted:

I remain confused about why haircuts are so important in some things.

There's a japanese saying that 'hair is a woman's life.' So cutting your hair dramatically is like cutting away your old life, essentially. It's why it's mostly a trope associated with female characters, even though plenty of anime dudes have long hair.

Except Luke in Tales of the Abyss, I guess.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 02:08

FeyerbrandX: Oct 9, 2012

What's disturbing is that Dream Quan still is pissed that Vivi isn't eatn' weight net.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 02:35

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

I like the interpretation that Quan originally kept Vivi to eat but after a while decided he liked spending time with the kid more.

Also I find it weird that Quan is the only Qu with an oriental basis for his clothing design.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 02:52

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

Mega64 posted:

Dream Police would work so much better.

Quina's alright, Quan is alright, they just seem a little weird.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 05:54

Glazius: Jul 22, 2007; Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.; Clapping Larry

Silver Falcon posted:

One detail I liked in the Chocobo Paradise is Zidane's pose when riding Choco. His arms are just resting on Choco's back, not holding reins or anything, so he isn't steering Choco and telling him where to go.

Huh, that's pretty neat. Wouldn't be much of a paradise if you couldn't go where you wanted and all.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 06:12

George: Nov 27, 2004; No love for your made-up things.

I got all my best-ever rounds of hot and cold in the Sky Garden, so I have to agree that it's not as bad as it seems.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 12:29

Orange Fluffy Sheep: Jul 26, 2008; Bad EXP received

Pureauthor posted:

Also I find it weird that Quan is the only Qu with an oriental basis for his clothing design.

He's also going for an entirely different gourmand philosophy than the others, so maybe that's got something to do with it.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 12:34

MarquiseMindfang: Jan 6, 2013; vriska (vriska)

George posted:

I got all my best-ever rounds of hot and cold in the Sky Garden, so I have to agree that it's not as bad as it seems.

I messed with it with Save States out of curiosity and learned more than I ever needed to know about how H&C decides where items are spawned.

But I did manage to manipulate it enough to get 8 items on just the first island.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 13:19

AlphaKretin: Dec 25, 2014; A vase to face encounter.

...Vase to meet you?

...

GARVASE DAY!

If you're unrepentantly cheating with the timer-unaffecting turbo in the PC port, you can get 8 items anywhere and here gives the most points, so that's a thing.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 13:21

W.T. Fits: Apr 21, 2010; Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

I bet Vivi is delicious.

Vivi is a precious cinnamon bun.

Of course he'd be delicious.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 15:32

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

George posted:

I got all my best-ever rounds of hot and cold in the Sky Garden, so I have to agree that it's not as bad as it seems.

Sky Garden is secretly really the easiest treasure hunt location, because the layout is essentially two narrow corridors. You just go forward and back and forward and back.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 17:30

ApplesandOranges: Jun 22, 2012; Thankee kindly.

Fister Roboto posted:

Sky Garden is secretly really the easiest treasure hunt location, because the layout is essentially two narrow corridors. You just go forward and back and forward and back.

The problem is the time you spent moving between corridors with unskippable animations.

There's also that one tiny platform that seems to be its own area on the top corridor - you won't even get a hint that the treasure is there until you're on it. So you might be pecking just outside the rim, get a 'Kweh.' and move on not knowing it was two feet away.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 17:41

biscuits and crazy: Oct 10, 2012

You can also completely ignore the little alcove where the superboss is, items never spawn there, so that saves a little time.

Edit. I also found this on my current play-through of the game, so I can never hate the air garden.

biscuits and crazy fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Oct 17, 2016

# ? Oct 17, 2016 18:49

Ojjeorago: Sep 21, 2008; I had a dream, too. It wasn't pleasant, though ... I dreamt I was a moron...; Gary’s Answer

Fister Roboto posted:

Sky Garden is secretly really the easiest treasure hunt location, because the layout is essentially two narrow corridors. You just go forward and back and forward and back.

Then put one foot forward.

# ? Oct 17, 2016 19:24

Rich Uncle Chet: Jan 20, 2005; The Law? Law is a Human Institution.

"Vivi you...you not grow much at all."

This was the first and only Final Fantasy line to make me actually laugh out loud.

Except for the Laugh Scene in FF10, but I don't think that's what the developers had in mind.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 02:43

mateo360: Mar 20, 2012; TOO MANY PEOPLE MERLOCK!
ONLY ONE DIJON!

So ahead of the LP, I am approaching a point of no return so I am AP grinding skills and abilities. I am wondering whether it is worth it to trying and get the 99 frogs needed for that side quest or wait and do it later (I'm at 55 I think). Not sure what the respawn rate is on the ponds when I leave 1 male and 1 female but the marsh near Lindblum wasn't ready yet from the last time I visited.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 02:56

Zinco: Mar 27, 2005

mateo360 posted:

So ahead of the LP, I am approaching a point of no return so I am AP grinding skills and abilities. I am wondering whether it is worth it to trying and get the 99 frogs needed for that side quest or wait and do it later (I'm at 55 I think). Not sure what the respawn rate is on the ponds when I leave 1 male and 1 female but the marsh near Lindblum wasn't ready yet from the last time I visited.

Try to do this as you go along as much as you can, because it's a nightmare saving it all for the end.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 03:21

Zeikier: Jan 26, 2010; "This woman...she's killed before, and not just once..."

So the big Eiko event in FF9 dropped a few days ago in Record Keeper, with Zorn and Thorn/Meltigemini as the main event. Besides being a brutal DPS check, they lead the clown fight right into the monster fight, and for the engine the game's built in it's actually kinda freaky. I prefer it to how FF9 presented it cuz it's a really cool and jarring shift in gears for the fight to get serious.

Mene's way of talking always makes me stumble. Was that a localization thing? Like, in the original Japanese did he have some kinda weird dialect that would be tough to convey properly in English? It helps sell his weird hermit personality compared to other moogles I guess.

Orange Fluffy Sheep posted:

Ratchel trained at the forest until she was ready "I am ready" When she found Meltigemini CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: LOOK OUT RETCHEL

Are your titles based on like, bad fics you find online or just like doing some crazy wizardry with words? Either way I love it.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 07:53

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

Zinco posted:

Try to do this as you go along as much as you can, because it's a nightmare saving it all for the end.

If you're smart and diligent about catching frogs, you can easily get 99 before the final dungeon. In my latest game I actually got pretty lucky - I caught the golden frog from the Mist Continent pond right before leaving for the Outer Continent, and it respawned in the pond there (there's a 1/3 chance of this happening). I was easily able to get 99 frogs by this point in the LP, which is pretty ridiculous for spoiler reasons.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 08:10

ApplesandOranges: Jun 22, 2012; Thankee kindly.

Fister Roboto posted:

If you're smart and diligent about catching frogs, you can easily get 99 before the final dungeon. In my latest game I actually got pretty lucky - I caught the golden frog from the Mist Continent pond right before leaving for the Outer Continent, and it respawned in the pond there (there's a 1/3 chance of this happening). I was easily able to get 99 frogs by this point in the LP, which is pretty ridiculous for spoiler reasons.

Issue is that you actually do need to keep going back. Assuming that you leave 2 frogs behind each time and they somehow produce enough to fill the pond up again by the time you come back:

Disc 1:
1st Qu Marsh: 6

Disc 2:
After Burmecia, before Cleyra: 12
Searching for Outer Continent: 18
Outer Continent: 24
Outer Continent again before end of Disc 2 (unlikely for it to be full again, but let's be optimistic): 30

Note that you need to make a second trip to the Qu's Marsh before you get Eiko, so that's a very narrow window with no boss fights (you're just going Conde Petie > Black Mage Village > Conde Petie). So you might as well take the loss of frogs and move on.

Disc 3:
After you get the Blue Narciss, do all three available Marshes: 48
Get the last Marsh while going to Oeilvert: 54

I don't think they will have finished respawning by the time you get the Hilda Garde III, but it'll be in batches of (hopefully) 24 after that, so you just need about two sweeps and then catch one more frog at any marsh.

ApplesandOranges fucked around with this message at 09:22 on Oct 18, 2016

# ? Oct 18, 2016 08:44

Endorph: Jul 22, 2009

Zeikier posted:

Mene's way of talking always makes me stumble. Was that a localization thing? Like, in the original Japanese did he have some kinda weird dialect that would be tough to convey properly in English? It helps sell his weird hermit personality compared to other moogles I guess.

My guess would be he had 'white dude' Japanese? Like, a dude who spent a few weeks practicing his Japanese before a trip to Japan. I don't have the jp script in front of me or anything, but the cadence and the sometimes but not constantly hosed up grammar kind of makes me think that's what the original Japanese was like.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 09:03

Simply Simon: Nov 6, 2010; 📡scanning🛰️ for good game 🎮design🦔🦔🦔

quote:

Gonna preface from now on to prevent possible confusion: I'm quoting from the Excalibur 2 Perfect Game Guide! This is how not to only beat the game at low level, but to also make a speedrun of it, and how to also not miss any missable items! It's elaborate as hell and maybe slightly insane!

Last time, Ark fell to Charge!. This time, hot minigame tips:

code:

 o I've found that the easiest and fastest way to complete this is to press
   START + CIRCLE + START in quick succession. This basically lets you play
   the game in slow motion and at no time penalty since the game timer stops
   when the game is paused. You should be able to reach the key within 90
   seconds.

But that's cheeeeeaaaating

In the desert palace, some levity:

code:

 o Return to the area with the prison chambers and go down the opposite path.
 o Activate the Bloodstone in the next area and...

              ____________________________________________________
             ( TAKE A MOMENT TO RELISH YOUR 10TH PROMIST RING! :D )
              ����������������������������������������������������

yeehaw

The Palace itself is rather boring with a ton of minutiae to do, which a normal guide would also detail. One thing that stands out here:

code:

 o Return to the library to find that the left wall has disappeared; go onward
   to find Mogsam the moogle.
 o Battles are very rare in the next area, so you may want to hold off on
   saving here in order to save some time.

This seems like a fool's gambit. Especially since all of this follows:

code:

 o Continue to the next area to find a gargoyle statue on the wall; light both
   of the candles beneath it to activate the Bloodstone on the railing.
 o Extract the Black Hood from the Bloodstone, then go through the doorway to
   reach the other side of the room.
 o Light all 3 candles on this side, extract the Venetia Shield from the
   activated Bloodstone, put out the candle in the middle and return to the
   opposite side of the room.
 o Extinguish the left candle to make a blue staircase appear between the 2
   sides of the room.
 o Return to Mogsam, deliver Mojito's letter, and finally SAVE YOUR GAME.

If the otherwise quite dry author is that relieved to save, I personally would take the time loss I think.

Valia Pira has a very interesting strategy; one thing I always find fascinating about severe challenge runs is how they make the most ignored poo poo work for them. Case in point:

code:

     .====================.                                         _____
  .--| BATTLE: VALIA PIRA |----------------------------------------(11 AP)--.
  |  '===================='                                         �����   |
  |                                                                         |
  | � Have Garnet cast Berserk on Freya as soon as possible.                |
  | � Open Quina's Blu Mag menu during Garnet's Berserk spell. After the    |
  |   spell connects, exit Quina's menu just long enough for Freya to shift |
  |   into her attack stance. Then cast Night and sit back until the battle |
  |   is over.                                                              |
  | � If your Freya is Lv18, then you can be a bit more flexible: 2 attacks |
  |   from a Berserk Freya will be enough even without the Sleep bonus. Or, |
  |   you can cast Night twice and attack with Freya after each casting to  |
  |   get the same effect.                                                  |
  | � Everyone except Vivi must survive this battle to gain AP. Have him    |
  |   distribute Phoenix Down as necessary in case Valia Pira manages to    |
  |   attack.                                                               |
  | � It's possible to replace Quina with Vivi and use his Sleep spell. But |
  |   cross your fingers that it connects.                                  |
  |                                                                         |
   >-----------------------------------------------------------------------<
  |   F   | MP Attack     * * * | Bird Killer   * * * | Insomniac     22/30 |
  |   G   | Auto-Float    * * * | Auto-Potion   * * * |                     |
  |   Q   | Level Up      22/60 | Insomniac     22/30 |                     |
  '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'

(I included the abilities learned menu for once seeing as the AP gains are apparently relevant; just another thing ticking in the background that is, of course, meticulously controlled)

Now for something maybe even LESS people care about : 100%ing motherfucking Tetra Master.

code:

 o DON'T FORGET THE NAMINGWAY CARD AFTER FORMING YOUR NEW PARTY; THIS IS THE
   LAST ONE IN THE GAME!
                                                     _____________________
  .-------------------------------------------------/ ARROW MANIPULATION /--.
  |                                                 ���������������������   |
  | * If you want your Namingway card to have a specific arrow arrangement, |
  |   you can use the following trick, courtesy of Vizuino:                 |
  |                                                                         |
  | * Reset your console and load a save in Treno. Go to the card stadium   |
  |   and purchase cards one at a time, noting down which arrows they come  |
  |   with. Count how many cards you bought to get one with your desired    |
  |   arrow arrangement.                                                    |
  | * Reset the console and reload the save.                                |
  | * Buy all those cards again, except the last one with the desired arrow |
  |   arrangement. You'll notice that you get exactly the same cards.       |
  | * Now do a SOFT reset, load your save in the Desert Palace, and pick up |
  |   your Namingway card - it should have the arrows of the last card you  |
  |   didn't buy.                                                           |
  |                                                                         |
  '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'

It would be ingenious if it wasn't so pointless.

We have another rather interesting, because convuluted but perfectly thought through, vignette to prepare for Mount Gulug now:

code:

                                                       ___________________
  .---------------------------------------------------/ PATH A, B & Lv 1 /--.
  |                                                   �������������������   |
  | * If you have the time to spare (especially if you skipped the Promist  |
  |   Ring detour), then you can make the following area much easier.       |
  | * Enter Esto Gaza and proceed as normal, but return to the world map    |
  |   after the scenes are over.                                            |
  | * Equip Amarant with the Kaiser Knuckles, Green Beret, Bone Wrist, Power|
  |   Vest, and Rebirth Ring; activate Auto-Life and Bird Killer.           |
  | * Remove the others' armor so that they can knock themselves out.       |
  |                                                                         |
  | * Save near the beach, then encounter a Whale Zombie.                   |
  | * Hopefully it will open with Fin. Knock out everyone except Amarant,   |
  |   and hope for Zombie Powder. Attack once to finish the battle.         |
  |                                                                         |
  | * Replace Amarant's Rebirth Ring with the Black Belt. Once you find the |
  |   Red Hat in Mount Gulug, equip that as well and activate MP Attack.    |
  | * Revive Freya without healing her, and activate her Cover ability. You |
  |   can equip the Linen Cuirass if necessary.                             |
  | * Ignore the upcoming equipment changes before the Red Dragon battles.  |
  |                                                                         |
  | * With this set-up, you can easily get past the upcoming Red Dragon     |
  |   battles. Amarant can take them out in one hit each, so hope he gets a |
  |   turn at the start of the battle and have him attack immediately.      |
  | * The remaining Red Dragon then has a 1 in 3 chance of using Dive. This |
  |   will always hit and knock out Freya thanks to the Cover ability, and  |
  |   Amarant can attack again for the win.                                 |
  |                                                                         |
  | * You can make up the missed AP gains by finding the Friendly Feather   |
  |   Circle near the Chocobo tracks and giving it a Moonstone.             |
  |                                                                         |
  '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'

I will skip the normal strategy for the Red Dragons, as it's mostly "Stop and Venom and Stone, ATB manipulate and cross your fingers". Really annoying especially for the first one as you don't get a save, but not worthy much comment.

The guide has a really easy time with Meltigemini, though maybe that is including "obligatory 20 resets until the stars align". I'll post the preparation though in case it makes OFS go "ah gently caress", though he probably is aware of the guide?

code:

   .=================.=================.=================.=================.
   |     ZIDANE      |      VIVI       |      FREYA      |     AMARANT     |
   .=================.=================.=================.=================.
   | Exploda         | Flame Staff     | Holy Lance      | Kaiser Knuckles |
   | Red Hat         | -               | Mythril Helm    | Green Beret     |
   | Thief Gloves    | -               | Diamond Gloves  | Jade Armlet     |
   | Brigandine      | -               | Shield Armor    | Chain Plate     |
   | Reflect Ring    | -               | Power Belt      | Black Belt      |
    >----------------+-----------------+-----------------+----------------<
   | MP Attack       | -               | MP Attack       | MP Attack       |
   | Devil Killer    |                 | Devil Killer    | Devil Killer    |
   | Ability Up      |                 | Ability Up      | Ability Up      |
   | Antibody        |                 | Antibody        |                 |
   '-----------------'-----------------'-----------------'-----------------'

And the battle:

code:

     .=====================.                                        _____
  .--| BATTLE: MELTIGEMINI |---------------------------------------(11 AP)--.
  |  '====================='                                        �����   |
  |                                                                         |
  | � Two hits from Freya and one or two hits from Amarant will be enough   |
  |   to end the battle.                                                    |
  | � Keep Eiko on stand-by to distribute Phoenix Down.                     |
  | � Zidane can either do the same, or you can have him Steal some gear    |
  |   for selling later. Enter an attack command at the end of the second   |
  |   round in case Freya and Amarant don't finish the job.                 |
  | � Everyone except Eiko needs to survive the battle to get AP.           |
  |                                                                         |
   >-----------------------------------------------------------------------<
  |   Z   | Auto-Reflect  75/95 | MP Attack     40/45 | Master Thief  * * * |
  |       | Ability Up    * * * | Sacrifice     * * * | Lucky Seven   71/85 |
  |   F   | Distract      * * * | Insomniac     * * * |                     |
  |   A   | Devil Killer  * * * |                     |                     |
  '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'

I guess the proper Killer abilities are really good, huh. At least when you're not Water-hosing everything down with Vivi.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 09:33

Orange Fluffy Sheep: Jul 26, 2008; Bad EXP received

Zeikier posted:

Are your titles based on like, bad fics you find online or just like doing some crazy wizardry with words? Either way I love it.

They're all based on Peter Chimaera fanfics. That one is from Knuckles Vses the Fox Power in particular.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 12:51

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

Catching the Gold Frog should only be done at the end. Leaving one with a male and female increases the reproduction rate. :eng101:

# ? Oct 18, 2016 15:43

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

ApplesandOranges posted:

Issue is that you actually do need to keep going back. Assuming that you leave 2 frogs behind each time and they somehow produce enough to fill the pond up again by the time you come back:

You can revisit a lot more frequently than that. It takes about 30 minutes for a marsh to fully repopulate if you leave the golden frog and a male and female behind. I visited the Lindblum marsh 3 times on the first disc alone (immediately after the Festival, after doing CH&C, and after beating Gizamaluke) and two more times on Disc 2 before entering Fossil Roo. You can also eat all the frogs including the golden frog if you know you won't be returning to a swamp for a long time, which is what I did on the last visit to the Lindblum swamp. Like I said, it's really easy if you're smart about it.

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

Catching the Gold Frog should only be done at the end. Leaving one with a male and female increases the reproduction rate.

Catching the golden frog will just make it respawn in a different marsh, it won't completely remove it from the game.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 16:50

Rabbi Raccoon: Mar 31, 2009; I stabbed you dude!

Fister Roboto posted:

Catching the golden frog will just make it respawn in a different marsh, it won't completely remove it from the game.

So in theory you could just make laps around Gaia with the Hilda Garde 3 catching 1 frog at a time?

# ? Oct 18, 2016 17:21

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

I don't know why you would, but yes, that is a thing you can do. It would be a huge waste of time. The general strategy is to catch everything except for an adult male and female and the golden frog, so once you get the airship you can do that at all four marshes.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 17:24

Schwartzcough: Aug 12, 2009; Don't tease the Octopus, kids!

I'm almost positive I left a male and female behind with the golden frog and it still took hours to repopulate. I'd come back significantly later in story progression and just find a bunch of tadpoles.

And that's a huge pain for me because I'm colorblind, and trying to make sure I have a male and female involves catching them to figure out their gender and then letting them go.

I would never seem to have more frogs than the mid-50s by endgame because no matter how I tried to space things out, the drat swamps took forever to repopulate.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 18:11

Fister Roboto: Feb 21, 2008

I think there's actually a bug where having an 8th frog born in a pond will completely depopulate it, so leaving the ponds alone for too long can be bad as well. That's another reason you should catch all the frogs in a pond that you won't be returning to for a long time.

Fister Roboto fucked around with this message at 18:20 on Oct 18, 2016

# ? Oct 18, 2016 18:18

mateo360: Mar 20, 2012; TOO MANY PEOPLE MERLOCK!
ONLY ONE DIJON!

Schwartzcough posted:

And that's a huge pain for me because I'm colorblind, and trying to make sure I have a male and female involves catching them to figure out their gender and then letting them go.

is there some other indicator I haven't noticed for the frog gender other then catching them?

# ? Oct 18, 2016 20:38

Schwartzcough: Aug 12, 2009; Don't tease the Octopus, kids!

mateo360 posted:

is there some other indicator I haven't noticed for the frog gender other then catching them?

Males and females are different shades of green, which I can sort of tell but not well enough to rely on.

# ? Oct 18, 2016 20:51

Mega64: May 23, 2008; I took the octopath less travelered,

And it made one-eighth the difference.

We've still got a few more things to check out before we continue the plot. The biggest one is to the south of the Forgotten Continent.

On one of the islands there's a large mountain that we're unable to access by boat. But now that we can fly, we can check out this mysterious remote cavern. What sort of dungeon may be inside?

Why, it's no dungeon at all! This is Daguerreo, the final city of Gaia. This place is completely optional, and in fact I didn't even know it existed the first time I played.

To get around this place, you'll have to use the lifts, which are powered by water pressure.

Daguerreo is a place of learning and weird science poo poo.

It's also a good place to catch up with familiar faces. Speaking of which...

Hey! What are you doing here?

After Cleyra was destroyed, I realized how isolated we have all been. So I decided to broaden my horizons and came here. It's wonderful here. I am constantly learning something new from these books. Someday, I hope to contribute to the restoration of Cleyra.

This was the oracle that gave us a tour back in Cleyra, before it got destroyed.

More on that in a bit.

I mean, look at this place. We're surrounded by mountains, in the middle of nowhere, and the water here never runs out. It has to be the work of the dragon god.

There's a couple hints to suggest that this place was originally a shrine to Leviathan, before he got sealed up near the Iifa Tree I'm guessing. Now it's some weird library for scholars and other travelers.

Stellazzio #10.

You suck, Capricorn.

Next, let's revisit another old friend.

I can tell from your eyes. I'm a treasure hunter myself, and a famous one, too. Just because I'm famous doesn't mean I'm gonna tell you my name.

Let's see. Your treasure hunter rank is...

What is with that guy?

Yep, we've collected enough treasure to hit max rank. This guy won't really be impressed until you do hit Rank S. Once you do so, then you get into this conversation.

To be honest, I'm not famous or anything. I'm just a loser rank-D treasure hunter. But someday, I'm gonna become a rank-S treasure hunter like yourself.

Our reward for talking to this guy at Rank S is the Key Item Rank S Medal. Woo.

Oh yeah, and we find out the four-armed man is actually named Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a reoccurring character in the series, and pretty much the only one that is actually the same character game-to-game (as opposed to all the different guys named Cid). You see, he originates in FF5 as a lackey for that game's villain, a comic relief guy who is still pretty tough. Eventually, his incompetence leads to the villain sending him to the Void, and that's where things get weird, as it's implied Gilgamesh actually travels across dimensions to pop up in other FF games. He shows up in 8, 11 (though no clue if it's the same guy or just someone with the same name), 12, 14, and the second Dissdia, plus is bonus content in a lot of other games like the Advance ports of 1 and 6 as well as 13-2's DLC. He's known for having four arms and wielding an assortment of crazy weapons, including another FF staple, the Excalibur knock-off Excalipoor (among other names). Generally in his appearances he's searching for powerful weapons, such as Excalibur (the real one), and though he's kind of a goof and braggart, beneath his villainous facade he does have a big heart, which ultimately leads to him sacrificing himself at the end of FF5 to save Bartz and company from some dude they were about to kill anyway.

FF9's iteration may not really be the same Gilgamesh, as he's a mere rookie in the treasure hunting scene, plus he's pretty knowledgeable about the world of Gaia while in other iterations Gilgamesh is a confused outsider looking for weapons or Bartz. Still, kinda neat that this guy who pops up throughout the game (he taught Vivi Tetra Master in Alexandria and schemed in Treno to kidnap Eiko to blackmail Amarant, at least until Quina unintentionally foiled his plans) is another reference to a beloved recurring series character.

Woo.

The synth shop has some new stuff. The Sargatanas is the big one since it's Zidane's first weapon upgrade since the Rune Tooth at the beginning of the disc. No new abilities (Annoy is the only one), but when used with Soul Blade it inflicts petrification, which is really handy in some instances considering Soul Blade has a 100% hit rate for statuses from Thief Swords. We can also synth a Glutton's Robe for Quina, though its abilities (Antibody, Auto-Regen, Body Temp) aren't new. Black and White Robes are available, and if you missed the Thief Gloves from the Treno option you can synth them here (though they cost 50k gil and require a Sargatanas and Mythril Armlet, so the auction is still cheaper).

You can also synth gems here. Each one requires Ore and a specific consumable (Potion for Opal, or Remedy for Garnet for example). Great way to boost up Dagger's summons. I end up synthing fifty Garnets to make Bahamut a beast.

As far as I remember the moons themselves aren't relevant, but I could be wrong.

Some of the systems here are rather complicated. The source of all this water is a mystery as well. Maybe it really is the work of the dragon god...

Zebolt's also here now that he's done with the Hilda Garde 3. He deserves a break.

Because it's in our nature to pursue the truth. They wanna know more about the moons. That's all.

No! It's all about aesthetics. People are simply drawn by the beauty of the moons. That's why they're studying them.

You can side with either party and eventually they'll give you cards, though I don't bother with that because gently caress cards.

Pursue the truth:

That's right! See!

Aesthetics:

Heh, heh, heh! I told you!

I think people study the moons to make sure they aren't actually massive spaceships used to destroy entire planets with green-haired women based on data they collect from the crystals. Just a hunch.

This woman sells consumables, including Remedies.

I saw that book over there.

Oh, really? Thank you.

If we inspected the pile of books earlier, we can direct the guy to them.

And then take this ladder to the middle floor.

I appreciate everything about them - the authors, the publishers, the readers...

This is why the Namingway card is the only useful card in the game. Sure.

Oh, YES!!! I'm stoked with imagination! I'm inspired to create! I have just mastered the Namingway Technique!

This lets us rename our characters.

I think we're set.

There's an Elixir on each side of this floor.

Back to this shortly.

This guy runs the "inn" here.

I've asked to be buried with my favorite book.

Last room to the left...

So there's a puzzle here. What we want to do is lower the left lever twice.

This reveals a hole...

Perfect!

...that we can stick the pole into.

Then lower the right one to the floor...

And that fixes the lift for the weaponsmith.

This gives us access to new stuff, some of which is missable. First off, the Rune Blade for Steiner, which can inflict Darkness and teaches Iai Strike, which has a 30% chance of inflicting Instant Death. Next, the Obelisk for Freya, can petrify and teaches Initiative (boosts chances of triggering a pre-emptive battle) and Cherry Blossom, which is basically a regular attack doing 150% damage and, more importantly, counts as a magic attack and thus targets a foe's magic defense rather than physical (though the attack itself is based on Freya's physical attack stat). The Tiger Fangs are nothing new, teaching Revive and Counter.

Armor-wise, the Defense Gloves teach HP +20% and halve Fire/Ice/Lightning damage for Steiner and Freya. They also get Diamond Helm, which teaches Accuracy+ and Insomniac, and Diamond Armor, which teaches Ability Up. The other characters get the Coronet, which teaches Man Eater and Return Magic while nullifying Wind damage.

So, I'm supposed to put a stone here? Stone...? Maybe some Ore might work.

You may not have noticed, but the synth shop upstairs doesn't make Aquamarines to boost Leviathan.

Instead, you use this thing we lowered earlier to convert Ore into Aquamarine (every 4 Ore is 1 Aquamarine).

We're done with Daguerreo. All that's left are a few loose ends. First, we came here earlier for a Chocograph, but there's another important thing about this island called Vile Island.

This is the home of Yans, probably the toughest regular encounter in the game.

It spams plenty of nasty attacks, like Comet, Virus Power, and Aera (right after it casts Float on you first, of course).

Oh yeah, and these attacks hurt.

It can even send someone away from the battle completely.

It is definitely not worth the effort it take to fight them. So why go back here?

Because there is one Yan that is friendly, and happens to be the last friendly monster. We can only interact with it after giving all the other friendly monsters what they want.

Unlike the Gimme Cat, we do want to give this guy a Diamond, rare as they may be.

Isn't that reward enough?

I say no. How about 50AP, a Rosetta Ring, and a nice nerf to the game's superboss? More on that last part once we actually bother with it.

Not too much for the rest of this update. First off, time to catch Quina up on frog hunting. Ideally I want to hit 100 before end game and we're a good bit behind, though now we've got access to all four marshes and can easily travel between them with our airship.

Hit another threshhold and got these. After scouring all four marshes I end up at 57 frogs. Alright, but still awhile to go.

The Black Mages have returned, so we can visit with them to see how they're faring after leaving Kuja.

The sun looks different to me somehow...

But life goes on, even while we try to make sense of it.

They're still trying to deal with their limited lifespan and the actions they've done.

Daguerreo wiped away my funds so time for a couple runs of the Cotton Robe trick. This place sells Steepled Hats, and Dali sells Wrists.

We can actually land our airship in Lindblum.

This is useful because we can access the bridge from here. This changes one thing.

We can steal an Elixir from this otherwise-inaccessible compartment.

Even if the idea falls through, it's never a waste to exercise your mind.

That said, there's not really much different here. A little, but most of the dialogue is the same as before.

You need to keep using rare cards to get better at the card game.

Please! Take me under your wing!

An apprentice, eh? Alright. Always trust your instincts! That's your first lesson.

Poor kid's going to regret getting into cards.

Let's finish this painting!

Finally, we can check in on Tantalus.

But they're too exhausted to hang with.

Next stop, Treno.

Drop off our latest Stellazzio to get another Rosetta Ring.

There's also a new monster now, the Amdusias.

It casts Bio and...maybe other stuff?

I don't know what else because it's vulnerable to petrify and so I make short work of it.

And that's it. Nothing new in any of the other places, and that's pretty much all the sidestuff we can do (besides Ragtime Mouse but I'll do that eventually maybe).

Next time, Ipsen's Castle!

Mega64 fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Oct 19, 2016

# ? Oct 19, 2016 01:39

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

I appreciate the fact you didn't name Zidane Harambe. :v:

# ? Oct 19, 2016 01:48

Blueberry Pancakes: Aug 18, 2012; Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

Also, as a note, if you try to attack the Friendly Yan, it will try to murder you for being a hateful monster.

It also has extra comments if you beat the superboss already.

# ? Oct 19, 2016 01:54

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# ? Jun 3, 2024 11:48

Pureauthor: Jul 8, 2010; ASK ME ABOUT KISSING A GHOST

I love Daguerro. It's so peaceful.

# ? Oct 19, 2016 02:26

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Final Fantasy IX - Steiner says "Princess" 89 times on the first disc

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